The Pennsylvania gambling scene is one of the more robust in the country. The Keystone State is home to 17 casinos, which support 33,171 jobs, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The number of casinos in Pennsylvania has grown in 2023, and will likely continue to grow over the years.
Pennsylvania’s retail locations, along with the help of PA online casinos, set the stage for a record-breaking economic impact this past year. These figures, however, only account for jobs tied to brick-and-mortar casinos.
Pennsylvania casinos responsible for over 33,000 workers
Pennsylvania casinos are obviously gambling facilities. However, casinos have reinvented themselves to be more than that.
Full-time casino employees are part of the 33,171 total, but the AGA also counts the extracurricular activities that casinos now provide.
After investing $250 million since the pandemic, most Pennsylvania casinos offer several amenities such as restaurants, sportsbooks, bars and hotels, which don’t necessarily involve casino employees. Anyone that makes revenue because of a Pennsylvania casino’s existence is included in the count.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) released its yearly diversity report last week. It stated that 15,461 individuals are employed with Pennsylvania casinos. The PGCB confirmed to PlayPennsylvania that its count included only those workers with gaming licenses that are employed directly with the casino.
The PGCB’s total is up from its FY 2021/2022 number of 14,829 employed individuals, which is a 632-person increase.
Pennsylvania casino market continues to grow
As casinos are showing higher rates of diversity, especially in the Philadelphia area, the state also continues to open more casinos. The addition of new casinos is increasing the number of employees and jobs supported.
Since 2021, Pennsylvania has opened four new casino locations:
- Live! Casino Philadelphia (Jan. 2021)
- Hollywood Casino York (Aug. 2021)
- Hollywood Casino Morgantown (Dec. 2021)
- Parx Shippensburg (Feb. 2023)
The casinos that opened in 2021 have seen increases in staffing over the last two fiscal years. Live! Casino Philadelphia went from 1,240 employees in 2021/2022, to 1,311 in 2022/2023. Both Hollywood casinos, which operate as PA mini-casinos, made smaller increases.
Parx Shippensburg, another mini-casino which opened earlier this year, employs 185 people. All indications are showing that number will increase over the years, too.
PA casinos’ economic impact
Pennsylvania recorded $5.51 billion in revenue during the FY 2022/2023, a record for any 12-month span.
While online options certainly helped, patrons are still going to land-based casinos. Slot play is as strong as ever, as brick-and-mortar casinos reported the second-highest total revenue ever at $2.45 billion. Retail slots generated 44.4% of the entire gambling revenue.
The record for retail slot revenue was set in 2011/2012, when PA casinos recorded $2.48 billion. Last year is only the fourth time the Keystone State produced retail slot revenue of more than $2.40 billion since 2010/2011.
In posting a fiscal year revenue record, the state set a new tax record of $2.37 billion.
The retail gaming industry should continue to grow. Once pending lawsuits are settled in the Bally’s State College Casino case, even more jobs will be created for Pennsylvanians.
